


Last Christomer

by AshJuillet



Series: Christmas Fics [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27882145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshJuillet/pseuds/AshJuillet
Summary: On Christmas Eve, Bill walks into the bookshop Hermione works in and asks her for her help. AU!
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Bill Weasley
Series: Christmas Fics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2038066
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Last Christomer

**Author's Note:**

> Pairing: Bill/Hermione  
> Prompt: I was your last customer on Christmas Eve because I forgot to buy more wrapping paper.

Glancing at the clock, Hermione's eyes widened with surprise when she realized it was almost midnight. Her colleagues had all deserted her by telling her that they had places to be on Christmas eve — unlike her. They hadn't been mean about it, but it had still stung a bit. Sad as it may be, Hermione didn't have anyone to go home to, but she had still wanted to spend her evening reading her book by the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate with mini marshmallows and eating leftover pies.

The bookshop Hermione worked at was open till midnight every day, and Hermione usually loved it as she had access to all the books she wished to read, but it _was_ Christmas Eve. She sighed as she stood up and checked to see if any customer was still in the shop. She wandered through the long aisles and came across a very recognizable redhead frantically searching for something in the small Christmas decor section they had organized just for the holidays.

"May I help you, Bill?" she asked, walking up to his side. She was surprised to see him in the bookstore on Christmas Eve when she knew he should have been at home with the rest of the Weasleys.

" _Hermione_!" he cried with relief, shooting up from his crouched position. "Oh, thank Merlin you're here! Quick, is there any more wrapping paper left?"

"Uh, sorry, but no. As you can see, everything's empty here," she said, waving her hand at the small aisle. The bookstore manager had suggested they keep a few Christmas decorations handy so that more people would like to come in.

"Oh, Merlin, _no…_ I checked every shop around here _and_ in Muggle London, but there's no wrapping paper at all!" he cried. "Help me, Hermione!"

She couldn't help but laugh. "You were wrapping your presents on Christmas Eve? How very… irresponsible of you, Bill."

"Not everyone can be as responsible and perfect as you, love," he said with a cheeky grin. "Please, please, please tell me you know what to do in serious situations like these. I can't go to the Burrow tomorrow with _unwrapped_ gifts. They won't let me hear the end of it!"

Hermione giggled and said, "Well, if there's no wrapping paper, I guess you could improvise. You could use some fabric — that will look really unique — or maybe you could use some melted crayons or —"

"I'm sorry, _what_? Melted crayons? What's that?" Bill asked curiously. "You know what? Don't explain it to me! Please, just say you'll come home with me right now and help me! I'll feed you and give you whatever you want!"

Hermione smiled and said, "Actually, we'll have to stop at a couple of shops to buy a few things before we head back to your place."

"Okay, that's fine. Can we go now?" he asked hopefully, and Hermione shrugged.

"Sure, you _are_ my last customer — though you're not buying anything," she said, walking over to the counter to close up for the holidays. _Finally!_

Bill trailed after her like a lost puppy, watching her cast a few Scourging charms on the floor and Levitate the books back to their rightful places. He remained silent as she tidied up, and when she was done, he offered her his arm. "Ladies first," he said with a smile, opening the door for her.

Hermione smiled gratefully and walked out into the snow with him.

* * *

"Okay, so what do we do with these?" Bill asked, raising the coloured papers and waving them in Hermione's direction. "Is there an art to this or something?"

"It's pretty simple, really," Hermione said, patting the spot beside her on his couch. "First, choose any fruit."

"Fruit? Why?" Bill sat next to her and leaned closer to see what she was going to do.

"Just choose one."

"Pineapple? What are we doing with it?"

"We're going to make the present look like a pineapple," she explained, picking up a large yellow paper. "Do you want to do this the Muggle way or—"

"Show me the Muggle way."

"All right," she said, turning towards him. "It's pretty easy because all we need are these coloured sheets, markers — these are like quills, but they don't run out of ink for a long time — some glue, tape and a pair of scissors. Now, I need you to cut that mustard paper into long stripes — preferably not too wide, nor too narrow. We'll stick them on this yellow paper after you're done."

"What will _you_ do?" Bill took the paper and began to cut it in equal lengths.

"While you're making the body of the pineapple, I'll make the top with this," she said, picking up one of the scissors.

Making sure not to reach the end, Hermione made a few long cuts in the green paper, rolled it and flattened the stripes. Bill used the glue to carefully stick his mustard stripes in a criss-cross pattern as Hermione had instructed him to do. Once he was done, he grinned and showed it to Hermione. "Is this good?"

Hermione smiled and nodded. "You did great! Now, we'll stick my roll on top… and voila! Your pineapple is ready!"

Bill grinned at her. "This was so easy! Ooh, let's do a kiwi next for Charlie! He loves those sour ones!"

She laughed and told him to wrap Charlie's box with an olive-green paper. While Bill was working on wrapping Charlie's present, she cut out equal-sized circles and placed them beside her. Bill asked, "What are these for?"

Hermione pointed at the box and replied, "You'll draw little seeds on these with the black marker, and I'll stick the circles on all the sides."

"You're really good at this," he murmured as he watched her with a curious glint in her eyes. "Do you make these special papers for Harry and Ron?"

"No… This is the first time I'm making these," she admitted, and Bill was stunned.

"You… haven't made these fruit papers before?"

"No, I read about these a few months ago, but I didn't get the chance to try it out until now."

"Well, I'm glad I'm your first," Bill teased, looking at her with a cheeky glint in his eyes. "I'm not keeping you from anything tonight, am I?"

"Well, I did want to finish my book and drink some hot chocolate… but it's fine," she said quickly, seeing the look on Bill's face. "I'll just do that tomorrow."

"What? _No!_ You can't finish your book today, but I'll make you your hot chocolate right after I make this kiwi! No one should go without their hot chocolate on Christmas Eve!" Bill cried, quickly drawing the seeds on the circles.

He shot to his feet and rushed into his kitchen to make Hermione her drink. "What else would you like in your drink? Caramel? Whipped cream? Marshmallows? The works?"

Hermione laughed and said, "Surprise me. I'll finish the kiwi for you."

"Prepare to indulge in the most delicious hot chocolate in your life, Miss Granger." He smirked as he Accioed three different bars of chocolate — milk, white and dark chocolate — and began to melt them together in a pot. "I'm going to blow your mind, you'll see!"

"We'll see," Hermione teased, placing the wrapped present on the table. "Do you want me to start on the strawberry one?"

"If you don't mind."

Hermione smiled as she started drawing black seeds on a sheet of red-coloured paper. She was having more fun than she had expected. Gift-wrapping wasn't so bad when she was with someone — more specifically when she was with _Bill_.

Bill glanced at her over his shoulder and smiled. The way she stuck her tongue out as she carefully measured the distance between each seed caused his heart to thud painfully against his ribs. He had always liked the younger witch for being so assertive and knowledgeable, but he hadn't ever spent a lot of time with her before. This was the longest he had been alone with her, and he was slightly surprised to find himself attracted to her.

Blushing at his realization, he quickly turned his head and focused on the melted chocolate in front of him. He added a splash of milk and vanilla extract to the chocolate, humming a Christmas carol under his breath. Pouring the chocolate into two colourful mugs, he added caramel syrup and marshmallows on top. Sprinkling some chocolate shavings on the marshmallows and drizzling it with chocolate syrup, Bill carried the mugs over to Hermione.

"Oh, this looks heavenly!" Hermione exclaimed, turning towards him when he saw down. He let his fingers graze against hers as he handed it to her, his heart pounding in his chest when Hermione's cheeks tinged pink. "Thank you, Bill."

"Thank _you,_ Hermione, for helping me," he murmured, sliding closer to her, his mug raised to his lips. He gazed at her from under his thick lashes and smiled. "You're a literal godsend."

He delighted in the way her cheeks darkened at his words. He watched her take a sip of the drink, and then, she let out a soft moan, the sound sending his heart into overdrive. "Oh, Merlin, Bill! This is _phenomenal_! Oh, my God…" She moaned again, and Bill shifted in his spot uncomfortably.

"Uh, I'm glad you liked it," he muttered, trying to hide how her moaning was affecting him.

Hermione closed her eyes as she savoured the taste of the beverage. "I _love_ it! It's got just the right amount of sweetness!"

When he saw some chocolate smeared on the corner of her lip, he said, "Uh, you've got some chocolate… on your lip."

Hermione opened her eyes and blinked at him slowly. She placed the mug on the table and wiped her face, but it was still there. "Where?"

"Here, let me," he murmured, sliding closer to her and cupping her face in his hands. His heart pounded in his chest as he slowly wiped the chocolate off with the pad of his thumb, gazing into her eyes.

Her breath smelled like the hot chocolate she had been drinking, and Bill couldn't stop himself. He moved closer to her, his hands on either side of her face, and whispered, "May I kiss you, Hermione?"

When she silently tilted her head in reply, he grazed his lips against hers. When she sighed at the soft touch, he allowed himself to kiss her more deeply, tongue tracing over her lower lip, as heat bloomed in his lower abdomen. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, trying to pull him closer. He buried his hands in her hair, amazed at how soft her curls were, and he tilted his head to gain more access to her mouth.

A few moments later, he pulled back to allow them to breathe, his heart threatening to punch its way out of his chest. He stroked his thumb against her lower lip, wondering if he could ever let her go now that he'd tasted her. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. "Do you want to do that again?"

"We're supposed to be wrapping your presents," she pointed out, panting for breath. Her cheeks were flushed a delicious baby-pink, and Bill groaned at the sight. She assumed it was because of what she had said. "You're the one who was in a hurry to wrap them!"

Bill grinned and shrugged. "We can wrap them later," he said. "First, tell me where you'd like to go for our first date."

"A bit presumptuous, isn't it? You didn't even ask me if I wanted to go out with you."

"Judging by the way you kissed me back right now, I think it's safe to say you're just as interested as I am," he teased, tilting her head up to give her a sweet kiss. "So… Where would you like to go?"

"Surprise me," she whispered, her eyes glinting with delight, and Bill grinned.

"Oh, I will." With that being said, he tugged her onto his lap and snaked his arms around her waist, tilting his head up to capture her lips with his. The clock struck twelve, and he whispered against her mouth, "Merry Christmas, Hermione."

"Merry Christmas, Bill."

**Author's Note:**

> Please do leave a review. :)


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